


Douglas

by inheritanceofgeek



Series: Valentine's [5]
Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: AO3 1 Million, Cabin Family Love, Douglas Richardson is a good father though, Father-Daughter Relationship, Flight Deck games, Gen, Gratuitous Hobbit Games Flight Deck Style, Mentions of Alcohol Abbuse, No domestic violence though just being a terrible husband and father, even if he hasn't always been!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-16
Updated: 2014-02-16
Packaged: 2018-01-12 16:42:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1192350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inheritanceofgeek/pseuds/inheritanceofgeek
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>First Officer Douglas Richardson spends valentines day at the Zoo with a beautiful young Blonde who wishes to be a pilot just like her Dad.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Douglas

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to explore Douglas being a Dad a bit more. We don't really get to see that side of him too much, but I like to think he's a good Dad now as a way of making up for his past. 
> 
> It was fun writing their relationship so I might give it another go at some point, however, this does conclude the 2014 Valentine's Day Stories. Love, after all, is a many splendid thing =)
> 
> Un-beated I'm afraid.

“Dad! Dad look!” cried Sophie pointing to the Giraffe’s in the enclosure looking nobly around at their surroundings “They’re so tall! Like, really tall! Taller than, than a, than a”

 

“Giraffe?” supplied Douglas grinning down at his daughter teasingly. Sophie giggled as one of the animals reached over and licked the feed from her hands.

 

“Wow. That’s so cool. Did you see Dad? They’re tongues are blue did you see?”

 

“Yes Honey. Of course this is not the first time I’ve seen giraffes.”

 

“Really?” asked his daughter eyes bright and wide

 

“Yes. We saw them in Nigeria when we took that Art Collector out there a few months back. Remember that necklace I bought you?”

 

“Mhmm.” She nodded eagerly “I showed it to everyone at school and they were so jealous that I had a Dad who got to go _aaaaaalll_ the way out there and got to fly _everywhere_ in the world. I want to be just like you when I grow up.” She beamed up at him.

 

Douglas lived for these days, when he was able to take her out for the day and get to talk to her away from her Mother who had, incidentally, asked for him to take her whilst she spent the day with her good-for-nothing accountant of a fiancé.

 

“You are _much_ more fun than Derrick.” Pointed out Sophie

 

“Oh?”

 

“He’s so dull.” She rolled his eyes “He can’t even name any of the Dwarves.” Douglas chuckled.

 

“And which dwarves would those be?”

 

“The ones from The Hobbit, duh.”

 

“Naturally, of course. Go on then.”

 

“Don’t you know?” replied Sophie imitating her father’s imperious tones.

 

“Of course _I_ know. I just want to check that _you_ know.”

 

His daughter gave him a shrewd look, both keen to impress but also keen to call her much loved Dad out his lack of knowledge; even if it meant contradicting her beliefs on the importance of Dwarf knowledge in relation to dullness.

 

“How about we play a game? We each take it in turns to name one and the person who looses has to buy the other one an ice cream.” He grinned.

 

“Done.” She grinned. “You go first then.”

 

“Fili.”

 

“Kili”

 

“Dwalin”

 

“Balin”

 

“Bifur”

 

“Bofur”

 

“Thorin”

 

“Changing it up to change Gandalf’s list to try and catch me out are we?”

 

“Me, try and catch you out? Never. You still need to name a dwarf.” She winked.

 

“Nori.” He rebutted

 

“Gloin.”

 

“Bombur.”

 

“Ori. I like him” she added as an after thought “he reminds me of Captain Crieff.”

 

This was something Douglas loved about his daughter. Well. He loved everything about her but this one was pretty high on the list or reasons – she didn’t judge him for not being the captain. All she cared about was that he was her Dad – and she thought him cool no matter what his position was. Flying aeroplanes was flying aeroplanes after all. Plus, she adored his colleagues at MJN, Martin in particular. Seeing her get along with his family there made his heart swell. Having divorced parents wasn’t easy on a kid. He supposed the fact that they’d been divorced for pretty much all her life. Luckily, he’d managed to stay sober for that amount of time as well.

 

“Oh blast, who else is there, um” he feigned failure, he knew the remaining two Dwarves, but sometimes it was best to loose. His daughter wore a wicked grin on her face as he appeared to struggle for thought

 

“Come on Dad. If you don’t know it just say.”

 

“Sleepy?”

 

Sophie burst into fits of giggles again. “No Dad. That’s Snow White! These dwarves are way more exciting than Snow White’s. For starters, they have swords. You owe me an ice cream now. Pay up.” She said smugly as they headed towards the nearest kiosk.

 

“Not before you give me the correct answer.”

 

“Dori and Oin.” She stuck her tongue out at him add emphasis to her point.

 

“Ok. Ok.” He heaved a sigh “You win. Now what would you like Sweetheart?”

 

“A Mint Feast please.” she said eyeing the display

 

“A wise decision. Two Mint Feasts please.” He asked the guy at the counter before handing over an extortionate amount of money – enough to buy two boxes of the things in Sainsbury’s. But, never mind. Ice cream always tasted better when it was bought during an outing rather than back home on his sofa. Or perhaps it just tasted better when spending time with his daughter? Who knew.

 

“Thanks for taking me to the Zoo today Dad. Can we come again next week?”

 

Douglas heaved a sigh “We’ll see what you Mother says.”

 

“Which means no.” she said dejectedly. “She never wants me to spend time with you. It’s so unfair.”

 

“I quite agree.” Though, secretly, he did understand. Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic, after all, and whilst he’d never so much as raised a finger at either of them, the memories of him coming home roaring drunk and waking up the whole house, of being to slaughtered to remember her first day at Nursery or the name of her Reception teacher. Still. Since then, he’d tried to be there for all the important stuff - Birthdays; School plays; Parent’s evenings and Brownie Promise Ceremonies – so you’d think she’d at least trust him enough to see her more regularly.

 

“Can we go and see the penguins now?” she asked eyeing the sign pointing towards them.

 

“Why of course. Anything for you princess.”

 

The girl rolled her eyes once more “I’m not a princess anymore, Dad. I’m a First Officer.”

 

 


End file.
